Fee Architecture
9.1 Market Fees
Market fees are charged per asset and collected by SwapBlok as the issuer of all wrapped assets on SB Chain. The fee is charged on the asset received by the trader (the output of the swap).
The fee parameters are set on each asset and controlled by the SwapBlok committee:
market_fee_percent: the fee rate in hundredths of a percent (e.g. 20 = 0.20%)max_market_fee: an absolute cap on the fee per trade (prevents excessive fees on very large trades)charge_market_feeflag: must be set totrueon the asset for fees to be collected
Market fees accumulate in accumulated_fees on each asset's dynamic data object. They are claimed periodically by the SwapBlok treasury account via asset_claim_fees_operation.
Genesis rate: up to 0.20% applied to the output asset only (single-sided). Combined with the 0.20% pool taker fee, the total per-swap cost is approximately 0.40%, below the Uniswap v2/v3 standard of 0.50% and competitive with the best centralised venues. The rate is governance-adjustable and is expected to decrease as trading volume grows. Lower fees at higher volume maintain absolute treasury revenue while improving competitiveness. High-volume routes may be reduced by committee vote; all rate changes require 72 hours public notice.
9.2 Pool Taker Fees
Pool taker fees are set per liquidity pool and are independent of the per-asset market fee. They are retained inside the pool on every swap, increasing the redemption value of LP tokens over time.
taker_fee_percent: the pool taker fee rate (e.g. 20 = 0.20%)withdrawal_fee_percent: a fee applied when an LP exits the pool, discouraging short-term liquidity provision
Recommended rate: 0.20% pool taker fee. This goes entirely to LP providers and is the primary mechanism through which liquidity providers earn native asset income.
9.3 Fee Flow and Treasury
The complete fee flow for a wETH/wSOL swap:
User swaps wETH → wSOL
Step 1: Market fee on wETH sold
0% (sell-side fee set to zero for competitiveness)
Step 2: Pool calculates wSOL output via x × y = k
Step 3: Pool taker fee on wSOL output
0.20% → remains in pool → LP token value increases
Step 4: Market fee on wSOL received
0.20% → accumulated_fees on wSOL asset
Step 5: User receives net wSOL amount
Total user cost: ~0.50%
SwapBlok earns: 0.20% (as wSOL in accumulated_fees)
LPs earn: 0.20% (as wSOL retained in pool)
Treasury collection and distribution cycle:
accumulated_fees (wSOL on SB Chain)
│
▼ [asset_claim_fees_operation]
SwapBlok treasury account (on SB Chain)
│
├──► PHASE 1 (<$1M daily volume)
│ 100% → operations, liquidity seeding, audits, runway
│ Burn: 0%
│
├──► PHASE 2 ($1M – $10M daily volume) [governance activation at $1M milestone]
│ 60% → treasury / operations
│ 30% → SBT purchased via exchange router → distributed as LP SBT rewards
│ 10% → SBT purchased via exchange router → burned permanently
│
├──► PHASE 3 ($10M+ daily volume)
│ 30% → treasury (operations self-sustaining by this point)
│ 40% → SBT purchased via exchange router → distributed as LP SBT rewards
│ 30% → SBT purchased via exchange router → burned permanently
│ (~$2.19M/year burn at $10M daily volume at max 0.20% fee rate)
│
└──► Treasury remainder → bridge withdrawal → real asset in cold wallet
│
▼ [wSOL burned on SB Chain; co-signed with ika.xyz]
Real SOL released to SwapBlok cold wallet (on Solana)
| Phase | Daily Volume | Treasury | SBT LP Rewards | Burn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | < $1M | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Phase 2 | $1M – $10M | 60% | 30% | 10% |
| Phase 3 | $10M+ | 30% | 40% | 30% |
The burn_fee_percent governance parameter exists at genesis and is set to zero. The Foundation commits to proposing activation when daily volume crosses $1M. The activation is announced as a public milestone, not applied silently. Phase transitions are likewise governance-controlled and publicly proposed in advance.
9.4 Operation Fees
Operation fees for all user-facing actions are set to zero at genesis. This covers swaps, order placements, bridge deposits, bridge withdrawals, LP deposits, LP withdrawals, and governance votes. There is no gas cost to use SwapBlok.
SwapBlok's revenue model is built entirely on market fees charged at the asset level on trade volume, not on charging users to interact with the chain. This design removes all onboarding friction: a new user can bridge assets and trade immediately without first acquiring SBT. Witness block rewards, funded from the 13% token allocation, compensate the network's infrastructure operators independently of operation fees.
9.5 Swap Fee
9.6 Bridge Fee
SwapBlok charges a 0.10% protocol bridge fee on deposits only (assets moving from an external chain into SB Chain). The fee is applied at the point of wrapped asset minting: when a user bridges 1 ETH, 0.999 wETH is credited to their SB Chain account and 0.001 ETH equivalent (as wETH) flows to accumulated_fees. Withdrawals carry no protocol fee. Bridging wrapped assets back out to the source chain is free of SwapBlok charges. The bridge fee is collected in the bridged asset, not in SBT, and enters the same treasury distribution pipeline as market fees (Section 12.3).
Fee structure per bridge transaction
| Direction | Protocol Fee | Relayer Fee | SB Chain Gas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit (external → SB Chain) | 0.10% of bridged amount | Source-chain gas (paid in ETH, SOL…) | Free |
| Withdrawal (SB Chain → external) | None | Source-chain gas (paid in ETH, SOL…) | Free |
The relayer fee is not controlled by SwapBlok. It is paid by the user directly on the source chain and compensates the permissionless relayer that delivers the Merkle proof to SB Chain. Users sign this step through their external wallet (MetaMask, Phantom, or equivalent).
Free withdrawals are a deliberate design choice. Charging to exit contradicts the non-custodial architecture and creates regulatory exposure. Revenue is captured on deposit and through ongoing market fees on every trade. The withdrawal is the end of a profitable user journey, not a new revenue event.
Competitive positioning
At 0.10%, SwapBlok sits slightly above the cheapest bridge alternatives, reflecting the value of a non-custodial architecture rather than competing on price alone.
| Bridge | Protocol Fee | Cost on $10,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Across Protocol | 0.05–0.06% | $5–6 |
| Stargate (LayerZero) | 0.05–0.06% | $5–6 |
| Synapse | 0.05% | $5 |
| SwapBlok sBridge | 0.10% | $10 |
| Typical CEX withdrawal | 0.10–0.25% | $10–25 |
The $4–5 premium over the cheapest alternatives reflects the unique trust model: unlike any other bridge, neither SwapBlok nor any third party holds key material that could be compromised. For users moving material capital, the non-custodial guarantee is worth this spread.
Governance adjustability
The bridge fee is set by the bridge_fee_percent governance parameter, adjustable per route. High-volume routes (ETH↔SOL, ETH↔BTC) may be reduced to 0.07% by governance vote once liquidity and throughput justify the cut. No route may be set below 0.05% without an 80% supermajority vote.